The present invention relates to welding apparatus and methods used in tungsten-inert-gas (TIG) welding of steel-based materials.
Conventionally, structures made of steel-based materials, such as carbon steel or stainless steel as the base material, are welded using TIG welding processes. TIG welding is widely used as a method of welding structures requiring high reliability since the welding operation can be easily performed and the welded metal portion can be formed with high-quality.
In TIG welding, a torch is connected to a remote power source by a flexible tube through which is passed a power lead and gas for creating an arc between a tungsten electrode and a work piece, while shielding gas passes around the arc. The tip of the electrode requires replacement over time. To date, this tip replacement has been a manual process which results in equipment downtime and safety issues during the replacement of the tip of the electrode being held by a robotic arm.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus which can be used to replace the tip of a TIG welder.
Nothing in the prior art provides the benefits attendant with the present invention.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the inadequacies of the prior art methods and devices and which is a significant contribution to the advancement to the welding art using a TIG welder.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for replacing used electrode tips of a TIG welder comprising: a main housing structure; a socket adapter assembly operatively supported by said main housing structure; and a vacuum tip suction device operatively supported by said main housing structure.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for replacing used electrode tips of a TIG welder comprising: a lower housing structure; a first moveable slide operatively connected to said lower housing structure; a first cylinder operatively supported within said first moveable slide; an upper housing structure operatively supported by said first moveable slide; a socket adapter assembly within said upper housing structure; and a vacuum tip suction device operatively supported by said upper housing structure.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for replacing used electrode tips of a TIG welder comprising: providing a robotic arm, said robotic arm holding the TIG welder; moving the TIG welder into a tip change position; providing a main housing structure having a socket adapter assembly operatively supported by said main housing structure, and a vacuum tip suction device operatively supported by said main housing structure; unthreading a gas shield from the TIG welder using said socket adapter assembly; unthreading an electrode nut from the TIG welder using said socket adapter assembly; removing a used electrode tip from the TIG welder using said vacuum tip suction device; placing a new electrode tip into said electrode nut using said vacuum tip suction device; threading said electrode nut with said new electrode tip onto the TIG welder using said socket adapter assembly; and threading said gas shield onto the TIG welder using said socket adapter assembly.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.